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know,’ replied Fabrizio mechanically. He then replaced the receiver and picked up the shotgun. It was locked and loaded.

5
     
    D R LA BELLA put out his cigarette in the ashtray, took his glasses off with a slow, studied gesture and began to clean the lenses with an immaculate handkerchief.
    ‘Well?’ asked Lieutenant Reggiani in an almost impatient tone.
    ‘It’s just as I said, my dear Lieutenant, isn’t it? Remember? “If you don’t find the animal I’ll have more maimed bodies on my autopsy table.” And here we are.’
    ‘I want to know whether you’re sure this death can be attributed to the same cause,’ said Reggiani.
    ‘I have no doubts about that,’ answered La Bella, ‘although that statement cannot be made with absolute certainty. Would you care to take a look yourself?’
    He got up and walked towards the cooler.
    Reggiani wanted to say no, he would not care to take a look, but he obediently followed the doctor. It was his job, after all.
    La Bella grasped the handle of one of the drawers and pulled it towards him until the top half of the corpse, covered by a sheet, was out. He lifted the sheet.
    ‘Dear Christ,’ murmured Reggiani, looking away in disgust. ‘It’s worse than the last one.’
    La Bella closed the drawer and locked it.
    ‘Have you spoken to the public prosecutor?’
    ‘You bet I have. He’s been calling me every two or three hours to get an update on our investigation.’
    ‘And what might that be?’ asked La Bella mechanically.
    ‘We don’t know shit, Dr La Bella. That is the update. I have two corpses that have been ripped to shreds and not a single clue to go on. The story’s bound to break, which means that in the wink of an eye this town will be besieged by a horde of reporters and TV cameras dying for a slice of the blood and mystery. Until now, I’ve managed to convince the prosecutor that it’s best to keep this quiet to prevent the spread of panic. As luck would have it, the guy who found the second body has agreed not to spill the beans and I know I can trust my men. But I also know this can’t last for long. It’s bound to leak out. At the same time, I have to put maximum security measures into effect to protect local people. It’s not been easy.’
    As the two men neared the exit, La Bella stared into the officer’s eyes with a discouraged expression and said, ‘I know it’s stupid to ask, but have you sent dogs out?’
    ‘It’s the first thing we did. But we didn’t get anywhere. We used our best trackers, but it was crazy. They’d run off in every direction, double back, take off like wild things through the bushes and then come back again. Absurd.’
    ‘I understand,’ said La Bella. ‘But you can’t not warn the residents. They have a right to know, to take precautions, to protect themselves . . .’
    ‘You don’t think that’s on my mind! Listen, at the start I was hoping that the first case would remain an isolated occurrence. That animal, or whatever it is, might have run off or ended up elsewhere, or have been caught or killed off, damn it. I’m about to go to the public prosecutor and submit my plan of action.’
    ‘If I’m not being indiscreet, can you tell me what that plan is?’
    ‘It’s not that I don’t trust you, Doctor, but I have to consult with the prosecutor first. Basically, we have to strive to achieve the impossible: inform the townspeople, ask the press to keep a low profile, solve the case by giving it all we’ve got.’
    Dr La Bella patted him on the shoulder. ‘I don’t envy you, Lieutenant. Good luck. I’ve never met anyone in all my life who needed it more.’
    R EGGIANI got into his car with Sergeant Massaro and drove to the public prosecutor’s office. The official was exceedingly agitated and didn’t even ask Reggiani to sit down.
    ‘Maybe you don’t realize this, Lieutenant,’ he began, ‘but from one moment to the next this situation could slip totally out of our control. The government